Today the Governor of Alabama, Bob Riley, called for a boycott against Aruba in hopes of pressuring Government officials to handling the disappearance of Natalee Holloway properly and communicate with the family.

However, some of the Aruban newspapers have writing articles prior to any announcement of a boycott. It would appear that some did not need any official announcement from the Governor of Alabama to take action on their own. After all, freedom of speech is also the freedom to spend your hard earned dollars as you see fit. In a November 7 editorial from Diario, (segun turistanan, AGENTENAN DI VIAHE NA MERCA TA CONSEHANDO PA NO BAY ARUBA)

Editorial: According to touristsTravel agents in the US advising against going to Aruba

ORANJESTAD(AAN): Recently, DIARIO conversed with a few tourists about the case of the disappearance of Natalee Holloway and the fact that, among others, Natalee Holloway’s mother has asked for people to not come to Aruba until the case is solved.

Different tourists explained that given that they have been coming to Aruba for some time, they are not affected by this because they know how dear and safe Aruba is.

The editorial would later go on to say the following:

According to the couple, they paid in total for two people, only $2,800 for a vacation of 10 days in Aruba. This includes the trip and the stay at a good hotel.

They explained to DIARIO that the travel agencies, who earn a commission on the tickets they sell, want to make more money so they are advising people not to go to Aruba because they are offering other more expensive destinations like the Bahamas, to earn a higher commission.

Prime Minister Nelson Oduber (MEP) has asked Minister Ben Bot (CDA) of Foreign Affairs to please exert his influence to restructure the downward publicity spiral, in which Aruba has landed due to the Natalee Holloway matter.

“The American media-campaigns have discredited the Aruban judicial system and its integrity”, said Oduber. He hinted that the Netherlands also gets drawn in this. “The call for a boycott is not exclusively for Aruba, but also for the Netherlands.” Oduber indicates in his letter that the call for a boycott mainly rests on an incorrect interpretation of the judicial system of Aruba and the Netherlands.

As talks of a pending boycott took place prior to todays actual announcement of a boycott by Alabama Governor Riley, the effects have already begun in Aruba affecting tourism. I do not think anyone in Aruba would have thought that their tourism numbers and image would have been affected this quickly. The idea that Aruba dripped from the number 2 perceived safe island to one on par with Jamaica and the Dominican Republic must bring shear fear to the tourism industry.

The absolute figures do not show a negative influence on the image of Aruba as a safe tourist destination. But professional market research shows a less bright image for the future. 51 Percent, of the interviewed persons, of which 33 percent are directly involved with the Holloway case, said that they are not interested in going to Aruba. 21 Percent of the travel agents are less inclined to recommend Aruba as vacation destination. The biggest concern is the fact that 27 percent consider Aruba to be an unsafe place to go to. Aruba has dropped from the second to the seventh place on the list of safe vacation destinations and is now almost at the same level as Jamaica and the Dominican Republic.

These effects and the boycott had not even been called for. I honestly do not think anyone wants a boycott; however, one does begin to wonder why Aruban officials and the prosecutors office ever let it get this far? We could see this coming for quite some time and wondered why Aruban officials kept playing this rather dangerous game of chicken?

Comments

22 Responses to “Boycott Aruba? What were Aruban Newspapers Saying Prior to the Announcement”

Bonnie McDaniel on
November 9th, 2005 3:23 am

Now that Alabama’s Governor has called for a boycott of Aruba, I only hope the other 49 governor’s will follow suite. If the officials there wanted the Holloway disappearance solved, it would have been solved a long time ago. Or do they really want educated Americans to believe that these three young men have outsmarted
their own police and govt. officials. Give me a break! Maybe when the innocent Arubans are financially suffering because of these darling three young men, they will demand a soloution. This has been a cover-up from day one because of one person, Paulus van der Sloot. He knows what happened and I personally feel, he helped those boys. However, I also feel he has friends in high places willing to protect him at all costs, possible because of something he knows that could hurt them. I truly feel for the innocent people in Aruba who will suffer. But now, let the chips fall where they may. And, to any Americans considering going to Aruba after this, I have one word for you “Karma”.

Northerner on
November 9th, 2005 4:32 am

A friend of mine is on Aruba right now, I asked him about the number of Americans on the island and apparently the island is bursting at the seams with US tourists. And this after all those months of US media hype. I don’t think Aruba has anything to fear from this boycott.

In fact, gov. Riley might have gotten himself in hot water. The Dutch government is plenty pissed (and rightfully so) about a US government official questioning the judicial system of one of their oldest allies. They are going to take it up with the State Department. Since the Netherlands is the 3rd biggest investor in the US (after Japan and the UK, I think), a few people in Washington are going to have to weigh the advantages of pissing off an old friend and investor against a governor scoring cheap political points. What Ryan did is the oldest trick in the political book: when your own situation is a mess (see Dan’s statistics), point your finger at someone across the border and create a common enemy to distract from your own problems. If that’s the best he can come up with, then this is an obvious example of the “Peter principle” at work.

So it’s our media campaigns that have led to the discrediting of the Aruban judicial system (if that’s what you call it)? Gee, maybe some of the system’s own actions, and participants, might have something to do with it ….

I’m beginning to think that the Aruban government is afraid that its own people might learn how corrupt it is, hence their attempts to promote anti-Twitty sentiment on the island. One thing is sure … if the pressure from one American family has them panicking, let’s see what happens when the boycott takes hold.

I guess they’re not good for much other than taking payoffs from drug barons.

Alan on
November 9th, 2005 8:45 am

A Nationwide US Boycott is what the Aruban Government deserves for the mistakes they made, the slacked,
orchestrated, mismanaged investigation that they never wanted to solve.

Last month, I emailed all the cruise ship companies that stop in Aruba to please stop at another island &
help support the boycott. I sure hope they do!

No matter where Americans go on vacation, we must feel that we are safe. Aruba has proven that it by far
is not a safe place.

I would never want my daughter to go to Aruba! I Encourage all American not to go to Aruba.

We owe that to Natalee. We must send a message to Aruba that Natalee has rights, as all Americans do,
we most certainly will not turn our backs on her as Aruba has done. We will never forget her!

John Staton on
November 9th, 2005 9:29 am

The request by Alabama’s Governor gives a big boost to a movement already going. The actions of the Aruban authorities shown on America’s Most Wanted raised the ire of Americans to a new height. This is especially true among the educated professional class. I know directly that boycott Aruba tables are going up at elite colleges. One specifically at the University of Notre Dame. What Aruba is in reality rather than their projected image is becoming more well known by the Moral North Americans. Pimps, Perverts and Predators will still go there but others will not.

Aruba delenda est!

Melissa Johnsen on
November 9th, 2005 10:44 am

The demonstration last week in Aruba of approximately 400 people against Beth Twitty was not nice. As shown on the local ATV news, one sign read: Natalee is dancing in Brazil, and there were others equally offensive.

How objective can any poll of Amercian tourists in Aruba be? This is the time of year which has a very high percentage of time share owners and if they did take a negative position about Aruba, they would be, in fact, saying they made a mistake.

Tisha on
November 9th, 2005 10:59 am

My husband and I honeymooned in Aruba in 1999. Since then, we have been back a total of 7 times. I have been to several other islands and the fact that Aruba has dropped to the level of Jamaica and Dominican upsets me greatly! This is one case that has occured. Aruba has been and always will be my vacation destination #1 choice. I have never been to a place where I can walk the beaches and not be stopped by armed guards (St. Lucia & Jamaica). There is some poverty, but the local Arubans are very appreciative of the tourists and treat them all with great respect. They do not try to sell you drugs, pursuade you to buy things from them and bother you while laying on the beach. In Jamaica & St. Lucia, they never leave you alone! The fact that Jamaica and Aruba are now at the same level is terrible. I am sorry that this has happened to the Holloway family and pray for the return of their daughter but don’t blame the island for this. Place the blame on one specific person.

homewoodmom on
November 9th, 2005 11:00 am

Odurber needs a reality check. The Americans do not have a problem understanding the judicial system. We DO have a problem with the obvious and deliberate mishandling of the Natalee Holloway disappearance. This is not about incompetance, the is about a very elaborate cover-up to protect the perpetrator of this crime. Get this straight– This is not going to go away or be swept under the rug, as you had hoped. If the reputation and economic well-being of Aruba is not more important that protecting Joran van der Sloot then just keep on doing what you’ve been doing. If you want this to “go away”, then do what you know has to be done. Bring him to justice.

vicki on
November 9th, 2005 11:13 am

Now the PM is getting scared about a boycott? How dare he… what nerve. We tried to warn you incompetant idiots what would happen if you ddnt stop playing games. The Holloways/Twittys just want closure… bring in that guy Dave Holloway said is suspect and lets get on with the investigation… Duhhhhh it doesnt take a brain surgeon to figure it out….

rafael on
November 9th, 2005 12:53 pm

They don’t get it. We don’t care how safe Aruba has been in the past. I don’t care how inexpensive it is to travel there. Bringing up the inexpensive price tells me just how desperate they are getting. This boycott is about one thing. GETTING ANSWERS. CITIZENS OF ARUBA MARCH YOUR STREETS AND BANG ON DOORS UNTIL THERE ARE ANSWERS. And for gods sakes, put more intelligent honest people on this case. I guess we will soon find out how important your little island is to Holland huh….

Gee wiz, if Aruba does not need American tourists to spend their money in their country, there should be no economic problem right? I don’t understand why some folks posting here are so angry over the boycott. Some people posting on this site that are upset about the predictable boycott, need use a little common sense….what you do if your child went missing while vacationing in another country? I think you might change your views somewhat. I wonder how Joran’s “studies” are going. I also wonder how the Kalpoes are doing with their “studies and /or jobs”.

Back to square one.
The discussions for the last five months have centered around a four hour portion of a 120 hour picture. Some questions that I would like answers to are:
Was Natalee a Social Climber or a Social Hanger? What were the reasons that Aruba was picked over other resorts? Who planned this trip? Who gave Natalee permission to go or who paid her expenses? Did she have credit cards and if so were they in her room with the luggage? What was the name of the person who discovered her missing and what did that person do the night Natalee disappeared. Who was her room mate? Did she have any male classmates or other males in her room?
I would then want documentation from her classmates as to what Natalee did both day and night. Who she was with, where did she go and what involvement the chaperones had in monitoring the vacationers.
Document all cell phone calls that were made/received from Natalee’s cell phone.
I would then want copies of all the pictures that anyone took during their stay on Aruba.
All the above information should be turned over to the FBI and should be made public unless detrimental to the investigation. Securing the above information would shed light on the follow assumptions.
Ã¢â‚¬ ¢In my opinion Joran and the Kalpoe brothers are at least quilty of kidnapping and rape.They took her to an afterhours club under false pretenses. They don’t know exactly where Natalee is now, but they did not leave her on the beach.
In my opinion the two who know what caused Natalee’s dimize are the selector Steven Croes and the filmer Freddy. Freddy was filming when Natalee was either smothered or choked.
Ã¢â‚¬ ¢In my opinion whoever was the porn distributor orchestrated the gang rape sequence of events is guilty of premeditated murder.
Ã¢â‚¬ ¢In my opinion the two who know where Natalee is now are Paulus Van der Sloot and Van der Straaten. “No body no case”
The problem we have here is a reluctant and corrupt investigating crew who can’t ask the right questions because of the criminal element. If gathered together as a group we would have a complete story. Individually, depending on the questions asked everyone is telling the truth but not the whole truth and not nothing but the truth.
Natalee needs a real hero to be found, but under these circumstances she never will. All searches are in the wrong place. There is no one of authority on Aruba or Holland who wants to find her. The only recourse is a complete tourist boycott of all Dutch held territories for Natalee’s memory and all other’s safety. Holland is so over run with drugs, rave clubs and corruption that you will find sixteen year old girls and younger as prostitutes and drug addicts laying all over the streets in Amsterdam. Holland is truly a SODOM and GAMORRA.

Tisha, you don’t get stopped by armed guards in Aruba because they are all down at C & C’s having drinks. Where would they be if something happened that you needed help? Down at C & C’s. No one is blaming the island for this, the polis dept is inept! The officials are corrupt and don’t care.

John Staton on
November 9th, 2005 9:22 pm

In truth if we do not stand up with the power of the US American Nation, we will have lost one of the greatest principals by which we live. ” Petacarus alive or Raslulie dead” standing orders from President T Roosivelt. US expeditionary force to Morocco. You mess with one of us you mess with all of us. If we lose this we lose what gives us a soul as a nation. I don’t care how many Dutch feet the Arubans kiss. I don’t care how many of their daughters they give to the sexual preditors on that filthy island. I due care how their filty cops treat US citizens. Let us face facts, Van der Sloot, Kapoe, Van der Straaten, Jacobs are all criminals which deserve the full force of Justice applied. Their so called Justice system is there to make certain that a criminal conspiracy stays as a conspiracy because there is no reason to break the association of criminal action under Dutch so called law. It is of the criminal for the criminal by the criminal for the benefit of criminal gangs too support the long term benefit of criminal activity. So I say “Justice for Natalee or Aruba DEAD”.

Aruba does need the American tourist money, no question about that. Fortunately there will always be enough sane people who will use their head, instead of acting like a spoiled kid not getting things the way they want it. Most people posting here never would go to Aruba in the first place and are taking all the Beth Twitty gospel for truth. Never mind, Aruba doesn’t need those people. The most important thing for Arubans is to find Natalee and whoever caused any harm on her. Unfortunately there is no body found, so there is no crime to proof yet. To call for a boycott doesn’t seem the way to speed things up, but as usual there are several Americans who think they now better. I am glad to see that there are still a lot of Americans thinking outside the box. High season is coming and the Island is filling up with Americans like every year. Yesterday three completely filled cruiseships, today another three, tomorrow there will be two coming in. Hotels are already filled up to 82% for the next year, overall. Personally I am glad to know that I won’t meet a lot of the posters here.

Sue on
November 9th, 2005 11:45 pm

More like how is Jorans party life going in Holland ??

Sue on
November 9th, 2005 11:50 pm

To the person that posted that there friend was in aruba and it was busting at the seams with tourist.. Wonder what all the American tourist would think of Aruban people waving signs saying ” Natalee is dancing in Brazil”..
I know If I went there and saw that .. It would be my LAST trip there ever

Frank on
November 10th, 2005 12:25 am

What destinations are on the top ten safest since Aruba has fallen from 2 down to 7?

dennisintn on
November 10th, 2005 1:00 pm

wonder how many americans decided to stay on the cruise ships while they were in aruban port. a day of rest, maybe.

this is just getting started. i have a couple of friends who run copies of the anti-beth and natalee posts to these forums and blogs to mail to their friends to show them how highly thought of american tourists are on aruba.

aruban officials think this is just another stolen wallet or mugging that will fade into history as soon as the affected tourist goes home, so they do nothing but stall.

surely someone down there with authority to act will finally understand the truth that this is not ever going away, and will keep escalating until natalee is home one way or anotherr and the people who hurt her pay for their crimes.

nobody in america wants to hurt aruba or its people. but whatever it takes to find natalee, and get justice for her death is eventually going to get done.

Glad2bAUSA on
November 10th, 2005 1:47 pm

You would have to be blind and deaf not to acknowledge what is happening with the investigation of Natalee Holloway. Where is all the evidence that was rightfully given to Aruban police?????
Natalee could be anyone of our own children……Easy to condemn when
it’s not you getting bambozzled! Aruba use to be a beautiful place to
visit……..not anymore! This will probably not be the last young girl to
disappear from that one big happy island.

Bonnie McDaniel on
November 10th, 2005 9:02 pm

While Councilmen Juan Ramos and Jack Kelly of Philadelphia have joined Governor Bob Riley in his boycott of Aruba, I see Governor Rendell has yet to respond. Perhaps we will hear something in the near future from him as well as other Governors around the country. Solidarity in this matter is the only option for anyone with an ounce of scruples.